Thermo-shapeable fabrics and articles made therefrom

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are fabrics having different thermo-properties. The fabric is characterized in its structure by having a high melting temperature zone and a low melting temperature zone, which are respectively made up by yarns having high and low melting temperatures By having yarns of high and low temperatures in the fabric, in which the respective melting temperatures in the high and low melting temperature zones differ by about 30° C. to 150° C.; and the low melting temperature zone melts and eventually becomes harden after heat-activation, while the high melting temperature zone remains un-melted and soft after heat-activation.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority under 35 USC section 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/478,611 filed Mar. 30, 2017, which is incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of textiles. More particularly, the disclosure invention relates to fabrics having different thermo-properties, and 3D articles made therefrom.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventionally, in textile industry, thermo-shapeable fibers are used to form shapeable layers that are laminated with layers of thermoplastic fibers to form textile layer (e.g., non-woven fabric). However, no one has ever tried producing textile fabric by directly knitting or weaving thermo-shapeable fibers into a fabric thereby creating a textile having thermo-shapeable property.

Inventors of the present disclosure unexpectedly created a smart textile by knitting, weaving or embroidering yarns of high and low melting temperatures into a fabric, thereby rendering the fiber thermo-shapeable property that allows 3D articles to be created directly from the fabric after heat-activation.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding to the reader. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure and it does not identify key/critical elements of the present invention or delineate the scope of the present invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In general, the present disclosure is directed to economical formation of textile articles (e.g., shoulder pads, triglide buckles, pockets and etc) directly out from a thermo-shapeable fabric.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present disclosure is directed to fabrics having different thermo-properties. The fabric comprises in its structure, a high melting temperature zone and a low melting temperature zone respectively composed of yarns of high and low melting temperatures, in which the respective melting temperatures in the high and low melting temperature zones differ by about 30° C. to 150° C.; and the low melting temperature zone becomes harden after heat-activation, while the high melting temperature zone remains soft after heat-activation.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, each yarns is composed of a plurality of fibers independently made from polyester (PES), which includes but is not limited to polyethylene terephthalate (PET), low melting point copolyester, and a combination thereof.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the low melting point copolyester is a copolymer of terephthalic acid (PTA), ethylene glycol (EG) and an aliphatic monomer. The aliphatic monomer may be any of glutamic acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, sebacic acid, neopentyl glycol or butylene glycol, and accounts for 1-20% (wt %) of the total weight of the copolymer. Preferably, the low melting point copolyester of the present disclosure is a copolymer of PTA, EG, and sebacic acid.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the low temperature zone is created by embroidering the yarns having low melting temperature onto the high melting temperature zone.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the high and low temperature zone are created by knitting or weaving the yarns respectively having high and low melting temperature into the thermo-shapeable fabric.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the heat-activation is achieved by heating the thermo-shapeable fabric until the temperature reaches the melting temperature of the low temperature zone but not exceeding the melting temperature of the high temperature zone.

Accordingly, a further aspect of the present disclosure is directed to an article made by heat-activating the present thermo-shapeable fabric into forming certain shape, thereby producing the article directly on the thermo-shapeable fabric.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the shape of the article is created by heating the present thermo-shapeable fabric until the temperature reaches the melting temperature of the low temperature zone but not exceeding the melting temperature of the high temperature zone.

According to certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the shape of the article is created by use of a mould during the heat activation.

Many of the attendant features and advantages of the present disclosure will becomes better understood with reference to the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

The present description will be better understood from the following detailed description read in light of the accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a yarn composed of core-sheath composite fibers in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B is the cross-sectional view of the yarn depicted in FIG. 1A taken along the line 1-1′;

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a yarn composed of comingled fibers in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B is the cross-sectional view of the yarn depicted in FIG. 2A taken along the line 2-2′;

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a yarn composed of twisted fibers in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B is the cross-sectional view of the yarn depicted in FIG. 3A taken along the line 3-3′;

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of a yarn composed of hollow core fibers in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4B is the cross-sectional view of the yarn depicted in FIG. 4A taken along the line 4-4′;

FIG. 5 is a photograph depicting a fabric carrying an 2D-grid pattern embroidered via a 6-heads embroidery machine in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a photograph depicting a fabric carrying heat-activated pattern embroidered via machine with cording device in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is photograph depicting a thermo-shaped article made from a fabric carrying a pattern embroidered by a 6-heads embroidery machine in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8A is a photograph depicting a thermo-shapeable fabric manufactured in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8B is a photograph depicting the thermo-shapeable fabric of FIG. 8A after heat-activation;

FIG. 9 is a photograph depicting a rectangular article made by thermo-shapeable fabric in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a photograph depicting a triglide buckle made by thermo-shapeable fabric in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 a photograph depicting a 3-D rectangular shape created by heat-activing a thermo-shapeable fabric produced by Double Jacquard knit in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 12 is a photograph depicting two sides of a thermo-shapeable fabrics produced by Double Jacquard knit in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, in which the front side of the fabric is in blue, while the back side of the fabric is in white.

In accordance with common practice, the various described features/elements are not drawn to scale but instead are drawn to best illustrate specific features/elements relevant to the present invention. Also, like reference numerals and designations in the various drawings are used to indicate like elements/parts.

DESCRIPTION

The detailed description provided below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the present examples and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present example may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions of the example and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the example. However, the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different examples.

The singular forms “a,” “and,” and “the” are used herein to include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In general, the present disclosure is directed to economical formation of textile articles (e.g., shoulder pads, buttons, pockets and etc) directly out from a thermo-shapeable fabric.

To this purpose, polymeric fibers or filaments (e.g., low melting point copolyester or PET fibers) are combined to form yarns, which are then strategically embroidered, knitted and/or woven into fabric to create the desired thermo-shapeable fabric, on which zones of high and low melting temperatures are found. Upon contacting with heat, parts of the fabric having zones of low melting temperature would melt and eventually become harden, while parts of the fabric having zones of high melting temperature remain un-melted and soft, thereby creating articles (e.g., pockets) with certain 3-dimensional shapes directly on the fabric, alternatively the fabric having harden and soft areas may be folded in desire manner to create 3D articles.

1. Filaments

The terms “filaments” and “fibers” are used interchangeably herein to refer continuous strands of materials. In the present disclosure, desirable filaments or fibers are made from polyesters (PES), which may be polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or low melting point copolyester; preferably, from recycled material, so as to reduce the carbon footage of an article eventually manufactured therefrom.

The term “low melting point copolyester” as used herein refers to a modified polyester, such as a copolymer of terephthalic acid (PTA), ethylene glycol (EG) and an aliphatic monomer. The aliphatic monomer may be any of glutamic acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, sebacic acid, neoentyl glycol or butylene glycol. Terephalic acid (PTA) and ethylene glycol (EG) are respective monomers of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). During polymerization, PTA and EG will polymerize to form PET, however, in the presence of the aliphatic monomer, in addition to PET chain, block copolymer between aliphatic monomer and PTA or EG may be formed also, accordingly, a modified PET comprising blocks of colpolymer of PET/aliphatic monomer, are formed. The crystalline property of the thus modified PET or copolyester differ from that of the un-modified PET (i.e., PET without the addition of aliphatic monomer) in that the melting point of the modified PET is much lower than that of the un-modified PET. The reduction in melting point of PET is inversely proportional to the amount of aliphatic monomer present in the copolymer, in other words, the lower the melting point, the higher level of aliphatic monomer may be present in the copolymer. Preferably, the aliphatic monomer accounts for about 1-20% (wt %) of the copolyester.

According to preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, the low melting point copolyesters are copolymers of PTA, EG and sebacic acid. In the present disclosure, the low melting point copolyester has a melting point ranging from 110 to 230° C., while the PET has a melting point that is approximately 250-260° C. Accordingly, yarns formed by PET fibers will have a melting point much higher than those formed by low melting point copolyester fibers. Low melting copolyesters suitable for use in the present disclosure are also available commercially, such as SRPX™ filaments (Miniwiz, Taipei, Taiwan).

The polymeric filament suitable for use in the present disclosure are produced by conventional technique, such as spinning. In some embodiments, the polymeric filament is in the structure of a core-sheath composite fiber, where the fiber comprises a core component and a sheath component, in which the sheath component is disposed about the periphery of the core component. Preferably, the core and the sheath components are made from polymeric materials of different melting temperatures, thereby creating different thermo-properties on the fibers. Alternatively, the polymeric filament may comprise a lumen or a hollow core.

2. Yarns

Various types of yarns are formed and used in the present disclosure, in general, they are produced by conventional technique, except fibers composed of recycled material and/or the combination of virgin and recycled material are included to produce yarns. Depending on the manufacturing technique, yarns thus produced may come in various structures and shapes. Accordingly, the yarn may have cross-section that is round, trilobal, multilobal, orange slice and etc.

Throughout the text of the present disclosure, the term “yarns of high temperature” refers to yarns that are composed of filaments having high melting temperature, such as yarns composed of filaments made of PET; and the term “yarns of low temperature” refers to yarns that are composed of filaments having low melting temperature, such as yarns composed of filaments made of low melting point copolyester (such as SRPX™ filaments (Miniwiz, Taipei, Taiwan)).

2.1 Yarns Composed of Core-Sheath Composite Fibers

References are made to FIGS. 1A and 1B, in which FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a yarn 10; and FIG. 1B is the cross-sectional view of the yarn 10 taken along the line 1-1′. As depicted in FIG. 1A, the yarn 10 is composed of a plurality of a polymeric filament 11. The cross-sectional view of the yarn 10 taken along the line 1-1′ reveals that each polymeric filament 11 is a core-sheath composite fiber, in which each fiber comprises a core component 11C and a sheath component 11S. The core and the sheath components may be respectively made from low melting point copolyester and PET, and vice versa. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the core is composed of PET, while the sheath is composed of low melting point copolyester. In another embodiment, the core is made of low melting point copolyester, while the sheath is composed of PET.

2.2 Yarns Composed of Comingled Fibers

References are made to FIGS. 2A and 2B, in which FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a yarn 20; and FIG. 2B is the cross-sectional view of the yarn 20 taken along the line 2-2′. In this embodiment, the yarn 20 is composed of a plurality of a first and second polymeric filaments 21, 22 co-mingled therein. The first and second polymeric filaments 21, 22 are respectively mono-component fibers made from low melting point copolyester and PET, and vice versa. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first polymeric filaments are made from low melting point copolyester, while the second polymeric filaments are made from PET.

2.3 Twisting Yarns

References are made to FIGS. 3A and 3B, in which FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a single covered yarn 30; and FIG. 3B is the cross-sectional view of the yarn 30 taken along the line 3-3′. In this embodiment, the yarn 30 is composed of a plurality of a first and second polymeric filaments 31, 32 respectively serve as the core and twisting fibers, in which the directions of the second polymeric filaments (or the twisting fibers) are twisted and turned about the first filaments (or the core fibers) during the manufacturing process to bring the two polymeric fibers close together and makes the structure of the yarn 30 more compact. Twist is a common technique used in textile industry, it helps the fibers adhere to one another, increasing yarn strength. The direction and amount of yarn twist helps determine appearance, performance, durability of the yarns and the subsequent fabric or textile product.

When manufacturing the twisting yarns, the core fibers may be filaments having higher melting point (e.g., PET), while the twisting fibers are filaments having low melting temperature (e.g., low melting point copolyester). Alternatively, both the core fibers and the twisting fibers may be core-sheath composite fibers, in which the core is made of material having relatively higher melting point (e.g., PET) and the sheath is made of material having relatively lower melting point (e.g., low melting point copolyester).

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, single covered yarns comprise core fibers and twisting fibers respectively made of low melting point copolyester, are produced. In other embodiments, double covered yarns are made, in such case, the core fibers are made of PET, and the twisting fibers are made of low melting point copolyester. In still further embodiments, cable double ply yarns composed of core-sheath composite fibers are made, in which the core component of the composite fiber is made of PET, and the sheath component is made of low melting point copolyester.

2.4 Yarns Composed of Hollow Core Fibers

References are made to FIGS. 4A and 4B, in which FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of a yarn 40; and FIG. 4B is the cross-sectional view of the yarn 40 taken along the line 4-4′. In this embodiment, the yarn 40 is composed of a plurality of a polymeric filament 41 that are hollow core fibers, in which each fiber has a lumen or a hollow core. In certain embodiments, the hollow core fibers are made of PET, e.g., recycled PET.

3. Thermo-Shapeable Fabric and Articles Made Therefrom

To produce fabrics having thermo-shapeable property, yarns composed of filaments having high or low melting temperatures are strategically embroidered, knitted or woven into fabrics, so that areas or zones having desired temperature distribution are created on the fabrics, rendering the fabrics shapeable by heat.

Preferably, the thermo-shapeable fabric shall contain high and low temperature zones, in which the melting temperature of yarns of high temperature differs from that of the yarns of low temperature by 30-150° C., such as 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149 and 150° C. A person having ordinary skill in the related art would be able to choose suitable yarns of high and low temperatures and create a fabric having desired thermo-shapeable property without undue experimentation.

3.1 Thermo-Shapeable Fabric Created by Embroidery Technique and Articles Made Therefrom

According to some preferred embodiments, yarns of low temperature are embroidered onto a base fabric made of yarns of high temperature, and forms a particular pattern (e.g., FIG. 6). Alternatively, multiple layers of the pre-designed pattern respectively formed by yarns of low temperature may be embroidered onto a base fabric (FIG. 5), so as to enhance the mechanical strength of the article intended to be made therefrom. In such cases, as the embroidered pattern is mainly composed of yarns of low temperature (e.g., core-sheath composite filaments made of low melting point copolyester), and the base fabric is composed of yarns of high temperature (e.g., PET), thus, when the temperature of the fabric is raised to a point exceeding the melting temperature of the yarns of low temperature, then yarns in these areas will melt and subsequently become harden once the temperature is dropped; while at the same time, zones composed of yarns of high temperature remain soft, as yarns in these areas stay un-melted. An article created by such manner is depicted in FIG. 7 in accordance to one specific embodiment of the present disclosure. A person having ordinary skill in the related art would be able to choose suitable combination of yarns of high and low temperatures and create desirable pattern using any embroidery technique he/she deems appropriate, such that the embroidered pattern can eventually turn into articles of desired shape.

3.2 Thermo-Shapeable Fabric Created by Knitting Technique and Articles Made Therefrom

According to some preferred embodiments, yarns of high and low temperatures are strategically knitted into a fabric, thereby creating zones having different thermo-properties on the fabric. Any conventional knitting method may be used to knit yarns of the present disclosure into a fabric, exemplary knitting method includes, but is not limited to, seamless, Jacquard, Double Jacquard, quilting double Jacquard knit, birdseye Jacquard, single jacquard knit, warp knit, cross tubular, jersey, rib, interlock, and etc.

Reference is made to FIG. 8A, in which a fabric formed by Jacquard knitting yarns of high and low temperatures is depicted in accordance with one particular embodiment of the present disclosure. The straight lines and lines defining each diamond shapes are composed of yarns of high temperature (e.g., PET fibers), whereas the other areas are composed of yarns of low temperature (e.g., low melting point copolyester), thereby creating zones of different thermo-properties on the fabric. Depending on the size and/or shape of an article intended to be made from the fabric, sufficient amount of heat may then be applied to the intended area, so that yarns in the zones of low temperature (i.e., the diamond shape areas) are melted, and subsequently become harden after the temperature is dropped, while the lines remain soft throughout the heat activation process (FIG. 8B). Accordingly, the fabric can be folded into desirable 3D shape without using conventional cutting, quilting or molding technique.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are photographs of another two articles respectively made from fabrics manufactured by Jacquard knitting described above. By similar manner, fabrics made by Double Jacquard knitting are depicted in FIGS. 11 and 12, and similar to the fabric made by Jacquard knitting, these fabrics mat also be shaped by heat, in which a 3D rectangular shape is formed by heat-activation on the Double Jacquard knitted fabric of FIG. 11.

3.3 Thermo-Shapeable Fabric Created by Woven Technique and Articles Made Therefrom

According to additional embodiments, yarns of high and low temperatures are strategically woven into a fabric, thereby creating zones having different thermo-properties on the fabric. Any conventional weaving method may be used to weave yarns of the present disclosure into a fabric, exemplary weaving method includes, but is not limited to, double sided woven, Jacquard, Fil Coupe, and etc.

Similar to fabrics produced by embroidery or knitting technique described above, fabrics produced by weaving technique are also thermo-shapeable due to the inclusion of yarns of high and low temperatures during the weaving process.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following examples, which are provided to illustrate aspects of the present invention, but the scope of the preset invention is not limited to those examples.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Manufacture of Yarns

In this example, yarns capable of melting at two different temperatures were manufactured by use of one or more types of filaments composed of one or two components having different melting temperatures. The filaments used in this example were produced by conventional spinning technique and were made into fibers having various shapes, thereby producing cross-sections that were round, trilobal, multilobal, round hollow (resulted from hollow core filaments), or orange slice. For core-sheath composite filaments, the core and sheath components in each filaments were respectively 50/50 or 80/20.

1.1 Yarns Composed of Core-Sheath Composite Fibers

A total number of 16 to 192 core-sheath composite filaments about 30-450 Denier (D) were gathered to form yarns. In this example, each core-sheath composite fibers comprised a core component made of PET (i.e., having a melting temperature about 260° C.), and a sheath made of low melting point copolyester (i.e., having a melting temperature ranging from about 110-230° C.). Then, various sections of the thus produced yarns were respectively taken, including orange slice, round, trilobal, multilobal, and cross section, which independently revealed that the yarn comprised about 5 to 80% low melting point fibers.

1.2 Yarns Composed of Core-Sheath Composite Fibers

The yarns in this example were manufactured in accordance with the procedures described in Example 1.1, except each core-sheath composite fibers comprised a core component made of low melting point copolyester (i.e., low temperature material), and a sheath component made of PET (i.e., high temperature material).

1.3 Twisting Yarns

In this example, 3 types of twisting yarns, including single covered yarns, double covered yarns, and cable double pli, were respectively produced in accordance with conventional processes of making such yarns. The single covered yarn comprised one strand of core fibers made of PET fibers of 300D, and one strand of twisting fibers made of low melting point copolyester fibers of 150D. The double covered yarn comprised one strand of core fibers made of PET, and two strands of twisting fibers respectively twisted around the cord fibers in opposite directions. In the cable double pli, both the core fibers and the twisting fibers were core-sheath composite fibers, in which the cord component in each composite fibers was made of PET, and the sheath component was made of low melting point copolyester.

1.4 Yarns Composed of Hollow Cord PET Fibers

In this example, a total number of 16 to 192 PET filaments about 30-450 Denier (D) were gathered to form yarns.

1.5 Yarns Composed of Low Melting Point Copolyester Fibers

In this example, a total number of 16 to 192 low melting point copolyester filaments about 30-450 Denier (D) were gathered to form yarns.

Example 2 Thermo-Shapeable Fabrics and Articles Made by Embroidery and Heat-Activation

In this example, one or more yarns (e.g., yarns of example 1) were strategically stitched onto a conventional base fabric to create 2D patterns (e.g., grid pattern), which were then heat-activated to produce thermo-shaped 3D articles directly out from the engineered 2D pattern. Embroidery was made by use of 6-heads embroidery machine or embroidery machine with cording device.

2.1 Thermo-Shapeable Fabric Made by 6-Heads Embroidery Machine

In this example, multiple layers of Tatami stitching at different directions (i.e., 0°, 45°, and 90° to enhance yarn strength) using yarns of examples 1 were stitched on a piece of base fabric. Detail conditions are summarized in Table 1. A fabric carrying the embroidered 2D-grid pattern via 6-heads embroidery machine is illustrated in FIG. 5.

TABLE 1 Conditions for making embroidery via 6-heads embroidery machine Embroidery via 6-heads embroidery machine Yarns Untwisted core-sheath composite yarns Core: PET; sheath: low melting point copolyester Yarns of example 1.1 Core: PET; sheath: low melting point copolyester; cable type, double pli Untwisted core-sheath composite yarn Core: PET; sheath: low melting point copolyester Yarns of example 1.2 Stitching multiple layers of Tatami stitching at different directions (i.e., 0°, 45°, and 90°) Density 600-700 SPM (stitches per min) Bottom yarn PET fibers interlining Recycled PES Base fabric 100% recycled PET Fabric made of core-sheath composited yarns about 40D to 250D, pre-engineered pattern Non-woven fabric composed of two temperatures fibers

2.2 T Thermo-Shapeable Fabric Made by Embroidery Machine with Cording Device

In this example, a pre-engineered pattern was embroidered on a piece of base fabric using twisting yarns of example 1 with the aid of the embroidery machine with cording device. Detail conditions are summarized in Table 2. A fabric carrying embroidered pattern via embroidery machine with cording device is illustrated in FIG. 6.

TABLE 2 Conditions for making embroidery via embroidery machine with cording device Embroidery via embroidery machine with cording device Yarns Yarns of example 1.3, double covered yarns about 1,800D Double covered yarns about 450D Core fibers: PES about 300D Twisting fibers: 2 strands of low melting point copolyester filaments Stitching Bottom yarn PET fibers Base fabric 100% recycled PET Fabric made of core-sheath composited yarns about 40D to 250D, pre-engineered pattern Non-woven fabric composed of two temperatures fibers

2.3 Articles Made by Thermo-Shapeable Fabrics of Examples 2.1 and 2.2

The fabric of examples 2.1 and 2.2 were respectively subject to sublimation printing or heat press, in which the respective embroideries created on the fabrics became harden upon contacting with heat, while the rest of the fabric (i.e., parts that were devoid of the embroidery) remained soft, thereby producing thermo-shaped articles directly out from the embroidered pattern on the fabric. Heat activation conditions used in this example are summarized in Tables 3 and 4. A thermo-shaped article created by heat-pressing the pattern embroidered on the fabric of example 2.1 is depicted in FIG. 7.

TABLE 3 Conditions for embroidery via 6-heads embroidery machine Sublimation Printing Overall printing 120-210° C., 25-120 sec Sporadic pattern 120-210° C., 25-120 sec 3-D metal mould 120-210° C., 35-60 sec

TABLE 4 Heat activation conditions for heat-press Heat Press Flat calendar 180-210° C., 120-240 sec 3D-thermo shaping Metal mould 130-230° C., 120-300 sec Wood mould 130-230° C., 120-300 sec

Example 3 Thermo-Shapeable Fabrics and Articles Made by Knitting and Heat-Activation

In this example, one or more yarns of example 1 were strategically knitted into a conventional fabric (e.g., fabric made of PES) to create zones having different melting temperatures on the fabric, accordingly, zones composed of low temperature fibers were thermo-shapeable, and became harden after heat activation, thereby creating thermo-shaped articles directly out from the fabric. Knitting techniques used in this examples included seamless, Jacquard, and Double Jacquard. Conditions of each knitting techniques and subsequent heat activation are summarized in Tables 5, 6 and 7. Fabrics produced by Jacquard knitting and articles made therefrom are illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 12.

A fabric produced by Jacquard knitting is depicted in FIG. 8A, on which the parallel straight lines and lines that defined the various diamond shapes on the fabric were composed by yarns having relatively high melting point (e.g., yarns of example 1), and the rest of the area were composed of yarns having relatively low melting temperature (i.e., low melting point copolyester fibers). The parts of the fabric made up by yarns having low melting points melt and eventually harden after coming into contact with heat, whereas the parts of the fabric made up by yarns having high melting point would stay soft after heat-activation, thereby allowing the fabric to comprise soft and hard areas, and can be folded into pre-engineered shape (FIG. 8B).

Multiple layers of fabrics as that of FIG. 8 were stacked and heated using a rectangular mold, thus creating a hardened rectangular article as depicted in FIG. 9. By similar manner, a triglide buckle created from a thermo-shapeable fabric produced by Jacquard knit is depicted in FIG. 10. A thermo-shaped rectangular article created from a thermo-shapeable fabric produced by Double Jacquard knit is depicted in FIG. 11. FIG. 12 is a photograph illustrating two sides of a thermo-shapeable fabric having similar pattern as that depicted in FIG. 8A, in which the front of the fabric is in blue color, while the back of the fabric is in white.

TABLE 5 Condition for seamless knitting and heat activation Seamless knitting Yarns Yarns of Example 1.1 low melting point copolyester filaments Core-sheath composite filaments Core: low melting point copolyester, sheath: PET Heat activation Vertical steam heat, satin machine, 3 parts metal mould

TABLE 6 Condition for Jacquard knitting and heat activation Jacquard knitting Yarns Yarns of Example 1.1 low melting point copolyester Core-sheath composite filaments Core: PET, sheath: low melting point copolyester Stitching Single Jersey Heat activation Sublimation printing Roll 130-210° C., 25-120 sec Flat 120-210° C., 25-120 sec Heat Press Flat calendar 195-210° C., 10-240 sec Roll calendar 195-210° C., 10-240 sec 3D-thermo shaping Via metal module, 10-120 sec Via wooden module, 10-240 sec Oven Dry oven 130-230° C. Steam oven 130-230° C.

TABLE 7 Condition for Double Jacquard knitting and heat activation Jacquard knitting Yarns Yarns of Example 1.1 low melting point copolyester filaments Core-sheath composite filaments Core: PET, sheath: low melting point copolyester Yarns of example 1.3, single covered yarns of 1800D Stitching quilting double jacquard knit, birdseye Jacquard, single jacquard knit Heat activation Heat Press Flat calendar 195-210° C. Roll calendar 195-210° C. 3D-thermo shaping Metal mould Wooden mould

Example 4 Thermo-Shapeable Fabrics and Articles Made by Woven and Heat-Activation

Similar to procedures described in example 3, except weaving technique was used in this example to create thermo-shapeable fabric. Weaving techniques used in this examples included double sided woven, Jacquard, dobby woven and Fil-coupe. Conditions of each weaving techniques are summarized in Tables 8, 9 and 10; and conditions for heat activation are provided in Tables 11.

TABLE 8 Condition for Double sided woven Double sided woven Yarns Core-sheath composite yarns Core: PET, sheath: low melting point copolyester Yarns of Example 1.1 low melting point copolyester yarns Yarns of example 1.3, single covered yarns of 1800D Stitching Low melting point yarns on one side, and high melting point yarns (e.g., PET yarns) on the other side

TABLE 9 Condition for Jacquard woven Jacquard woven Yarns Core-sheath composite yarns Core: PET, sheath: low melting point copolyester Yarns of Example 1.1 low melting point copolyester yarns Yarns of example 1.3, single covered yarns of 1800D Stitching Low melting point yarns Jacquard pattern

TABLE 10 Condition for Fil-coupé woven Fil-coupé woven Yarns Core-sheath composite yarns Core: PET, sheath: low melting point copolyester Yarns of Example 1.1 low melting point copolyester yarns Yarns of example 1.3, single covered yarns of 1800D Stitching Jacquard weave structure Floating low melting point yarns were shaved on the back of the fabric after weaving

TABLE 11 Conditions for heat activation Sublimation Printing Overall printing 120-210° C., 25-120 sec 3-D metal mould 120-210° C., 35-60 sec Heat Press Flat calendar 135-210° C. Roll calendar 135-210° C. 3D-thermo shaping Via metal or wooden mould

It will be understood that the above description of embodiments is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made by those with ordinary skill in the art. The above specification, examples, and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Although various embodiments of the invention have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those with ordinary skill in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A thermo-shapeable fabric comprising: a high melting temperature zone and a low melting temperature zone respectively composed of yarns having high and low melting temperatures, wherein, the respective melting temperatures in the high and low melting temperature zones differ by about 30° C. to 150° C.; and the low melting temperature zone becomes harden after heat-activation, while the high melting temperature zone remains soft after heat-activation.
 2. The thermo-shapeable fabric of claim 1, wherein each yarns is composed of a plurality of fibers independently made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), low melting point copolyester, or a combination thereof.
 3. The thermo-shapeable fabric of claim 1, wherein the low melting point copolyester is a copolymer of terephthalic acid (PTA), ethylene glycol (EG) and an aliphatic monomer, in which the aliphatic monomer is selected from the group consisting of glutamic acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, sebacic acid, neopentyl glycol and butylene glycol.
 4. The thermo-shapeable fabric of claim 3, wherein the low melting point copolyester is a copolymer of PTA, EG and sebacic acid.
 5. The thermo-shapeable fabric of claim 1, wherein the low temperature zone is created by embroidering the yarns having low melting temperature onto the high melting temperature zone.
 6. The thermo-shapeable fabric of claim 1, wherein the high and low temperature zones are created by knitting or weaving the yarns respectively having high and low melting temperature into the thermo-shapeable fabric.
 7. The thermo-shapeable fabric of claim 1, wherein the heat-activation comprises heating the thermo-shapeable fabric until the temperature reaches the melting temperature of the low temperature zone but not exceeding the melting temperature of the high temperature zone.
 8. An article made by heat-activating the thermo-shapeable fabric of claim 1 to form a shape of the article directly on the thermo-shapeable fabric.
 9. The article of claim 8, wherein the shape of the article is created by heating the thermo-shapeable fabric of claim 1 until the temperature reaches the melting temperature of the low temperature zone but not exceeding the melting temperature of the high temperature zone.
 10. The article of claim 9, wherein the shape of the article is created with an aid of a mould during the heat activation. 